The Dickinson press., 1887-04-30
YEARS AFTERW ARD.

YEARS AFTERWARD.
Ada Setgwick sat by her window with an
open letter upon her knee. The letter was
from England and Mrs Sedgwick had been
in her Australian homo nearly seven years.
But it was not OIL account of the distance or
the lapse of time that the letter had ceased to
interest her. 1t was because one sentence in
it ba,! set her dreaming with happy smile
upon her face. a fair face it was for all tho
IS years that had passed over it-fair and
sweet ant! v,"y womanlilc. No one looking
at Mrs. Sc'i5wicls would have guessed that
her hSc i,1l been anything bit tranquil and
commoHp!acc. Her home il Enslan.l during
her Gir!hoo'. lad been very happy one; she
was her fathers housekccper companion,
friend, for his wifo hal died when Ada was
littlo moro than baby. Her father called
her his right hand, and she was accustomed
to defer to his Judgment i'll everything.
Therefore. when he spoke Of James Sedgwck
as possible sutor, it never occurred to the
girl taa. this was not the wiscst and best
arrangement.
JAM; Sedgwick was ut this time what
girls call a nice looking man. Not hand
some, not distinguished, but eminently nice
looking, with white hands, carefully trimmed
nails, and hair and whissers which did credit
to the time bestowed upon them. His prin-
ciples, too, were irrerroachahlc, even ii they
were expressed in patitudes. He had i'll
herited little money at his fathers death,
with which he went into a promising, sound
ing business as partner "a certain fortuuc,'
he said, and his friends believed him, for
they had not found out then that every new
scheme he put his hands and his money into
was, i'll his opinion, q certain fortune. Nor
did they in these days presagc that his liking
for glass of sherry, his desire to be hail
fellow well met with every one with whom
he came in contact, would end by him sod.
denng his brains with continual nippinr
until hc became what is worse than a con-
firned d'unkartl-a man who, drop l,y drop
sips away his health, his money anl the re-
spect of his friends.
Fortunately, Ada's father did not live to
see this consunlmation. He died while vet
I his daughter seemed i'll fair way to n happy
and prosperous life.
\ The first serious blow that fell on Mrs.
Se,lgwicl was the quarrel between her hus-
/ band and his partner. They were both hasty
tempered men, but Mr.. Scdgwick was in
addition obstinate, weak and foolish in judg-
( ment. He left the l'llsiness-a far poorer
4 man than when he joined it-simply becn,,s,.
u matters to be smoothly arranged for him.
VI His noXt venture WIS on the Stock Ex-
II change Having ruined himself, rs far as
Il lay in his power he voted England slow;
q only place for fosscs and money grubbers.
a Would Ada mind going with him ahroa,R
"a Would she mind 1t was tho one thing to
n save her. The ole thing she had hoped for
81 since another, far dearer, voice had whisp-
h ered "Comc with me Fiji, to Timuctoo
n anywhere! Give me loves right to guard
NJ and protect YOU"
9$ Possibly, if the years could have come
aa back, even when Mt their bittereSt, Ada Sc,l.-
w wick would have acted again as sho acted
n WHEEL the temptation was strong upon her.
:sI She loved her good name. She loved to bo
Sg in high esteem among her fellows. Sh loved
Ed even to hear people say what Il devoted wife
y she was, though she knew the devotion was
8# to duty alone, not to heli,ls,al she dpsIiscd
sS Well, it was over now. The shallow brain
81 that had drealnt such wonderful things, and
81 had been capable of performing so little, was
III at rest for ever. And even in the five
u months that had elapsed since Mr.. Scgwicks S
N death, his widow hail grown younger and
; fairer to look upon. To-day there was almost
"a youthful rose tint Oh her check, and n shy,
~ happy expression III her dreamy eyes.
S The letter upon her knee was only n lady
a like cifuson from friend who kept her we'll
II up in all the news of the London season. She
~ read it listlcssly enough until she came to ono
s@ sentence "Do you remember Col. Keatlys
58 He has suddenly surprised us all by starting
s@ for Australia. No one seems to know why
sN wonder if you will come across each othcrf'
2 "No one seems to know why! l know
.# Ada whispered to herself "Ie has not for
sM gotten me. Heaven has guided me through
M long years of misery for such happiness as
M surely no woman ever felt before. Do re-
member Col. kcatly! Is there word lie
AZ ever spoke to me, n look he has ever given
me, have forgotten. l wonder if lie has
aged more than have done. He is only
two years ol'ler and women, they say, arc so
. much i'll advance of men in the matter of
8age."
s Then she went to her glass, and bllshed to
S&s find how young and happy she was looking.
S5 And a friend, happening to meet her that
ssEday inlorsed her own opinion by saying:
ssss''Why, child, what have You been doing to
Msyourself1 Have you found the secret of per-
Espetua youthi' 1t was an old woman VINO
I&sspokc and n woman who loved her. 1t had
HI been better for Mrs. Se,l swicl if she had met
SSsome one about her own years but a little less
@@cnmely; some one who would lave advised
8shcr sweetly to try some cldcrfIowcr wash. the
#ileat was SO trying for the complcxion some
Zone who would have synpathiz.d with h.r
Ason her loss, and badc her not fret much, lc
scausc fretting ruined the eyes and turned the
hair gray. Then, perhaps, she would have
EAgone home feeling 4 little depressed. and
mot OH the best of terms with herself
EsBut as it was, glass and friend alike
&told the same fattering tale, and neither had
femindcd her, we are but rejoicing that the
.yravages of eighteen years of worry and dis
Etress are being erased, and that you arc be
' ginning to look rs a happy woman of s.
should look
So she told herself: "What do years mat
teri My lover is coming to me-nly lover
who has kept single for my sake, who ha:
seen no woman in all this time who has
= taught him to forget me! Oh. wind and tide
be kind; shorten the voyage, if only ,y al
hour! grudge every minute that We al.
peparated now"
The wind and tide were kind The GOO
shtp Greta was having most favorable pas
Mge-too favorable for one OF the pass .,-ars
Col. Keatly had obcyesl all impulse ill sail
ing for Melbourne as Soon as the news OF Mr.
6edgwick's death reached him. But now a
each succeeding day seemed to he drawing
around him chains which he was not at al
SURE he wished to wear, he would fain hav,
prolonged the voyage indefinitely. 1t wa
true that he had cared for Ala Se.,gwicl
had pitied her inexPressibly; he loved t.
eher mild eyes turned to him for sympathy
almost it seemed for protection. Anc
then one night, when the sense of pity az,
pcmection was strong upon hm-when hi
blood was warm with wine, with music, flow
geEA and the subtle iltoxication Of IL brillian
scene-he had spoken words of passion; b
hea bade her forget her duty, everything, TO
~ sake Of the peace and love the futur
might hold She refused even to listen, an'
hes experienced sense of disappointment
not so powerful feeling by any means q
would have been the wearincss and DISCUS
Hhich would ho 20 onS,,al lad shn err,ntei h;